Building my life in French in Canada: Hamza’s Story

Every year, thousands of Francophones immigrate to Canada and settle in French speaking communities outside Quebec. Throughout their journey, many Francophones organizations across Canada support and encourage them in planning their new life.

Transcript: Building my life in French in Canada: Hamza’s Story

Video length: 1 minutes, 08 seconds

Lively music is heard in the background. A black sign with the same music in the background. The displayed text says: “Every year, thousands of Francophones immigrate to Canada and settle in French‑speaking communities outside Quebec. Throughout their journey, many Francophones organizations across Canada support and encourage them in planning their new life.

Here is a testimonial from one of them. ”

First we see a man standing and smiling at the camera. Then we see him with his wife and three children. The man introduces himself. A title appears, stating: “Hamza Kadri, native of Algeria.”

Hamza Kadri: My name is Hamza Kadri. I am Algerian by birth, and I am going to settle here in Winnipeg.

Next we see images outside a building with flags, including the Canadian flag, flying in the wind. We are outdoors; it’s winter. We see a building with a sign that reads “Accueil francophone”. Then we are outside the Winnipeg airport, a man is walking toward the door. We see suitcases turning on a carousel at the airport. We then see a close-up of a sign indicating international arrivals. We move to a wide shot of Hamza Kadri and his family, who are coming down an escalator. Next we see a man waiting inside the airport and holding a small sign that reads “Famille Kadri”. The father takes his daughter in his arms and looks toward the man. He walks over to him and shakes his hand.

Hamza Kadri: I found out about the Francophone immigration program in Manitoba at Destination Canada, in Paris. To properly prepare, I contacted a lot of organizations here in Winnipeg, and we were able to come up with a well-defined settlement plan.

The father then takes turns introducing his children to the man who welcomed them. The man shakes the little boy’s hand and welcomes him.

employee from accueil francophone: Welcome to Canada.

Hamza Kadri: Yes.

employee from accueil francophone: Good day, young man.

The father speaks directly to the camera. Then, back at the airport, the man who welcomed them gives the father a file containing documents. We see the mother holding her tired little girl in her arms. The same girl puts her bag on the luggage cart. Next, we are outside the airport, near the parking lot. It’s nighttime. The man pushes the cart holding the family’s suitcases. We then move to a house where a woman welcomes the family.

Hamza Kadri: It was a truly marvellous feeling, the feeling of my new life that was going to begin that night here in Canada. All of my family are very happy to be here.

We come back to a close-up of the father, smiling.

Hamza Kadri: Looks like “we’re going to make it, we’re going to make it”.

The image changes to show the graphic: “Building my life in French in Canada” with the text: “For more information about settlement services in French, visit canada.ca/francoimmigration”. We see the brand image of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The music stops. We see the signature of the Government of Canada, the Canadian flag flying on a white background.